Insert {{TOC left}} at the point in the article where you want the top of the Table of Contents box to appear. Use with {{clear}} or {{clear left}} to prevent e.g. image collisions. To remove the small default margin/padding included above the box, set |top=0 (or, to customize it, use |top=(a value)).

Do not use this template to just force word wrap around the TOC, as this is an inappropriate method of achieving this. Instead add a CSS class to your current skin's .css file, which will apply site wide. Go to Special:Mypage/skin.css, which redirects to your current skin's CSS file.

Do not place this template so that the TOC aligns with a large image or infobox; this breaks the layout on narrow screens (even users with screens as wide as 1024px wide can have problems). Also, a TOC that crosses a section division is probably a poor idea, if that can be avoided.

Unless the section in which the {{TOC left}} is placed is long enough, the result may well be undesirable. Note particularly that if the TOC is floated left of a bulleted list, the bullets will be hidden.

It should only be used in cases where the TOC gets in the way of other content or is detrimental to the layout of the page; it should not simply be used for aesthetics since it tampers with the standard appearance of articles. See en:Help:Section#Floating the TOC for further guidelines.